SATURDAY, 5:45pm: Gutierrez said Friday that his two-year contract isn’t guaranteed for next season, but a source tells Tim Bontemps of The New York Post that there is a “very nominal” guarantee involved (Twitter link).
9:22am: Gutierrez tells Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News that next season isn’t guaranteed, as I suspected (Twitter link).
FRIDAY, 8:51am: The Nets have re-signed Jorge Gutierrez to a deal that covers the rest of this season and beyond, the team announced via press release. The terms of the contract are unclear, but since Brooklyn is without cap space and possesses no exceptions that allow for a deal longer than two seasons, it has to be a pact for the minimum salary for the balance of 2013/14 and 2014/15. Next season is most likely not fully guaranteed.
Gutierrez had been on a pair of 10-day contracts with the club, the last of which expired Wednesday night. Earlier that evening he was ejected from Brooklyn’s overtime loss to the Bobcats for committing a flagrant-two foul. Still, the 6’3″ point guard saw more than 19 minutes in that contest, his most during his five-game stint. He’s averaged 3.4 points, 1.4 assists and 0.2 turnovers in 13.4 minutes per game for the Nets.
Brooklyn brought the Arn Tellem client to camp in the fall, but the team released him before opening night, and he spent most of this season with the D-League affiliate of the Cavs. The Nets circled back to him earlier this month when he beat Darius Johnson-Odom in an audition for a roster spot.
Gutierrez becomes the 15th player on the Nets with a guaranteed contract for this season, meaning the team is likely done making moves in 2013/14. They have a disabled player exception worth $5.15MM for Brook Lopez, but it looks like that will go unused. That exception would cover a contract that runs only through the end of the season, so for Gutierrez the Nets are instead using the minimum-salary exception, which provides for deals of up to two years.